Our Leadership

Hank Ketcham was appointed Chair of the Board in 1996. Mr. Ketcham served as President until April 2012 and retired from the position of CEO effective March 1, 2013, when his title as Chair of our Board was re-designated as Executive Chair. 

Mr. Ketcham has been actively involved with West Fraser since 1973. He was formerly a director of Toronto‑Dominion Bank.

Mr. Ketcham is an ex officio participant.

Sean McLaren was appointed to the Board in 2024 when he assumed the role of President and CEO of West Fraser. He is based in Memphis, Tennessee. 

Previous roles include becoming Chief Operating Officer in December 2021. Other roles at West Fraser include President, Solid Wood in February 2021, Vice-President, U.S. Lumber in 2016 and Vice-President, U.S. Lumber Operations in 2010. In 2005, he became General Manager of the Williams Lake Sawmill.

Mr. McLaren holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Calgary and is a Chartered Professional Accountant in British Columbia.

Ellis Ketcham Johnson was appointed to the board in 2021. Ms. Johnson is currently the President of a private philanthropic foundation and a member of the Parents Leadership Council at Georgetown University. She previously worked at IMAX Corporation in Canada. Ms. Johnson completed her undergraduate degree at Lewis & Clark College and received a graduate degree from Yale University. She recently completed a Directorship Program with an emphasis on Board Governance.  

Ms. Johnson is a member of the Governance & Nominating Committee.

Doyle Beneby was appointed to the board in 2023. Mr. Beneby has over 35 years of experience in various aspects of the electrical power industry. He previously served as CEO of Midland Cogeneration Venture, CEO of New Generation Power International and President and CEO of CPS Energy. Prior to joining CPS Energy, Mr. Beneby served at Exelon Corporation in various senior roles, including President of Exelon Power.

Mr. Beneby is an experienced corporate director currently serving on the boards of Quanta Services, Korn Ferry and Northland Power. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Miami and a Bachelor of Science from Montana Technical College. In 2021, Mr. Beneby was recognized as one of the Most Influential Black Corporate Directors by Savoy Magazine.

Mr. Beneby is a member of the Audit Committee and the Health, Safety & Environment Committee.

Janice G. Rennie was appointed to the board in 2004. Ms. Rennie’s business background includes executive positions in large organizations and overseeing her own investment firm. This included the position of senior vice president of Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness at EPCOR during a time of transition. Prior to this, she held key executive positions with Princeton Developments.

With more than 20 years' experience as a corporate director, Ms. Rennie also serves on the board of Major Drilling International Inc. and is Chair of the Board of EPCOR Utilities Inc. She is a past board member of Methanex Corporation, Teck Resources Ltd. and WestJet Airlines Ltd. Ms. Rennie is also the former Chair of the Provincial Audit Committee of Alberta. In recognition of her career achievements, in 2022, Ms. Rennie was recognized by CPA Alberta with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Ms. Rennie holds a Bachelor of Commerce and is a fellow of both the Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta and the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Ms. Rennie is a member of the Human Resources & Compensation Committee and the Governance & Nominating Committee.

Gillian D. Winckler was appointed to the board in 2017. Ms. Winckler is a former mining and business executive with over 25 years of diversified experience in the metals and mining industry and the financial sector. 

Ms. Winckler served with BHP Billiton in London, England and Vancouver, Canada. Upon leaving the company, she joined Coalspur Limited as its CEO and President, along with a brief period as Chief Financial Officer. Prior to the mining industry, she spent five years as a corporate financier in South Africa and London and five years in the auditing profession. 

Ms. Winckler is a Chartered Accountant (South Africa), with a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Commerce (Honours). She also obtained an ESG Competent Boards Certificate and Global Competent Boards Designation. She is currently Chair of the Board of Directors of Pan American Silver Corp.

Ms. Winckler is the Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Health, Safety & Environment Committee.

Brian G. Kenning was appointed to the board in 2017. Mr. Kenning previously served as Managing Partner of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., a company involved in the real estate, asset management and power generation sectors. He was also Chair and Managing Partner of B.C. Pacific Capital Corporation, an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., active in merchant banking and investing. 

Mr. Kenning has over two decades of experience serving as a director for a number of public and private corporations. He has served as a director of B.C. Rail, British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. and Maxar Technologies Ltd. In addition, he is a Trustee of Connor Clark & Lunn Infrastructure Funds, Chair of The Fraser Institute Foundation and a past Governor of the B.C. Business Council. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Queen’s University. 

Mr. Kenning is the Chair of the Human Resources & Compensation Committee and a member of the Governance & Nominating Committee.

Reid E. Carter was appointed to the board in 2016. Mr. Carter was most recently a Managing Partner at Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. and was President of Brookfield Timberlands Management LP. In this role, he led the acquisition of approximately 3.5 million acres of private timberlands throughout North America and Brazil as well as the teams responsible for all growth and operations aspects of these businesses.

In addition, Mr. Carter served as President and CEO, and until May 2021 as a director of Acadian Timber Corp. and as President and CEO of its predecessor, Acadian Timber Income Fund. He previously served as a director of Enercare Inc.

Mr. Carter holds a combined Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry and Biology and a Master’s degree in Forest Soils, both from the University of British Columbia.

Mr. Carter is the Chair of the Governance & Nominating Committee and a member of the Audit Committee.

John Floren was appointed to the board in 2016. Mr. Floren recently retired as the President and CEO of Methanex Corporation. Prior, he was Senior Vice-President, Global Marketing and Logistics and Director, Marketing and Logistics, North America with Methanex. He has worked in the chemical industry for over 35 years.

Mr. Floren holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Manitoba. He also attended the Harvard Business School’s Program for Management Development and the International Executive Program at INSEAD. He completed the Directors Education Program at the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Mr. Floren is the Chair of the Health, Safety & Environment Committee and a member of the Human Resources & Compensation Committee and the Governance & Nominating Committee.

Eric Butler was appointed to the board in 2023. Mr. Butler is the President and CEO of Aswani-Butler Investment Associates. Previously, he had an extensive career with Union Pacific, where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer.

Currently, he is a member of the Board of Directors of NiSource Inc. and Eastman Chemical Company, and has served in the past in a number of appointments, including as the former Chair of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City – Omaha Branch.

Having studied at Carnegie Mellon University, Mr. Butler holds both a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science degree in Industrial Administration from the university.

Mr. Butler is a member of the Human Resources & Compensation Committee.

Marian Lawson was appointed to the board in 2021 in connection with the acquisition of Norbord. Ms. Lawson retired from Scotiabank in 2018, with over 30 years of experience in banking and capital markets. During her tenure, she held numerous senior roles at Scotiabank, including Executive Vice-President, Global Head, Financial Institutions and Transaction Banking, Deputy Head of Corporate Banking, Managing Director, Capital Markets and Vice President, Internal Audit.

Ms. Lawson previously served as a director of Norbord and 1832 Asset Management LP, a wealth management subsidiary of Scotiabank. She is currently a director of Canadian Tire Bank.

In 2016, Ms. Lawson received the Women in Capital Markets Award for Leadership and the Women’s Executive Network, Top 100 Corporate Executive Award. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from York University, a Master of Business Administration (Finance) from McMaster University and a designation from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Ms. Lawson is a member of the Human Resources & Compensation Committee and the Health, Safety & Environment Committee.

Colleen M. McMorrow is a Corporate Director. Ms. McMorrow served as a senior client assurance partner with Ernst & Young LLP (EY), a global professional services firm, until her retirement in 2016. She has more than 35 years of experience in advising audit committees and senior management of public and private global companies on business assurance, financial reporting, enterprise risk management and capital markets transactions. She is a qualified financial expert. In addition to her client serving role, Ms. McMorrow held a number of leadership roles at EY including National Director in Canada of EY’s signature Entrepreneur of the Year awards program and served as the firm’s Growth Markets Leader (high-growth entrepreneurial companies), Office Managing Partner, Assurance Managing Partner, Industry Sector Leader (Technology, Communications and Entertainment) and was a member of the Canadian firm’s Partnership Board and Chair of the Nominating Committee.

Ms. McMorrow is currently a director of Exco Technologies Limited, listed on the TSX, Investment Management Corporation of Ontario and Plan International Canada Inc. She was formerly a director of publicly listed companies LOGIQ Asset Management, Norbord and Ether Capital Corporation.

Ms. McMorrow earned a Bachelor of Commerce and a Graduate Diploma in Accountancy, both from the John Molson School of Business, Concordia University. She is a Fellow Certified Public Accountant and Fellow Chartered Accountant and has received the Certified Director designation (ICD.D) from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Ms. McMorrow is a member of the Audit Committee and the Health, Safety & Environment Committee.